New Britain, CT Sign Regulations: Window Signs (2026)

Section 170-110-10.50, part of the Signs in the CBD and CBD-R Zones chapter adopted October 25, 2015 (Item #33220-2) and amended March 19, 2025 (Item #36711-3), governs window and door-window signage in New Britain's Central Business District. The rule sets two conditions: the sign must be painted on or affixed only to the interior face of the window or door window glass, and the total window-sign face area cannot exceed 15 percent of that window or door-window's area. Signs that meet those limits are exempt from the district's other sign-area math: the ordinance specifically states that window signs are not counted toward the separate allowances for wall signs, canopy and awning signs, hanging or projecting signs, freestanding signs, or flags set out elsewhere in § 170-110-10.

Those companion limits show how tightly the CBD sign package is drawn: wall signs and signs on canopies or awnings are capped at 1.5 square feet per foot of wall length or 150 square feet total, whichever is less (§ 170-110-10.10.10); hanging or projecting signs cannot exceed 12 square feet of total sign face and must clear at least eight feet above grade (§ 170-110-10.20); freestanding signs are limited to one per lot per 300 feet of frontage and to 12 or 25 square feet per side depending on distance from the right-of-way (§ 170-110-10.30); and flags are capped at 96 square feet of total area per lot (§ 170-110-10.40). A downtown storefront can combine a compliant window sign with wall, hanging, or flag signage without the window sign eating into those other limits.